What happens when I remove exhaust baffles?

Q. I have just purchased a new GSX-R1000 K7 with dealer fitted Arrow cans with removable baffles. Can you please tell me whether it would harm the bike if I removed them.

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I have also read in the Arrow instructions about a connecting pipe without the stock cat convertor – are these OK to use and will it increase the power low down?
Neil Fletcher, e-mail
 
A. It shouldn’t be a problem, they are designed to allow you to take the baffles out for a meatier sound when you are at a track day, without upsetting the bike’s performance. Of course, it means the bike is breaking the noise limits at this point.

The de-cat pipe replaces the original catalytic convertor and if you allied it to a Power Commander you’d get a mid-range boost, but on its own the power is virtually unchanged.